Democracy is presupposed upon the concept that free citizens inform themselves of political issues and matters of national and local concern, and then vote for the officials who best represent their viewpoints. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case in America. More US citizens are likely to be able to tell you who Jennifer Lopez has been romantically involved with during the past 5 years than name the congressmen representing their districts and Senators for their states. More registered voters can name more characters from Friends than current Supreme Court Justices. Consequently, we currently have a political system wherein voters are attracted to candidates and ideas like consumers are to brands of soda and automobiles. Sound bites rule the airwaves and bumper sticker thinking is the rule rather than the exception. Why does the candidate who has the most commercials almost always win elections? Because commercials work. Most Americans have been socialized to be consumers rather than thinkers. The following is designed to give additional weight to the votes of persons who are more likely to have critical thinking skills and are more heavily invested in society. The Scaled Voting System: A) Every person's vote is worth a minimum of 5 points B) 1 extra point for landowners C) 1 extra point for being 35 years of age or older D) 1 extra point for earning a bachelors degree from a nationally accredited 4 year college or university. Perhaps the greatest benefit of this system is that it would do away with the need for term limitations.